Cyclist Tony Webber, who was badly injured when his bike flipped in a pothole

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A cyclist who suffered serious facial injuries after his bike flipped over in a Guildford pothole has lambasted the state of the county’s roads.

Tony Webber, was cycling to his home in Bellfields from a friend’s house in Grange Road last Tuesday night when he hit a pothole on Stoughton Road, near Stoke New Cemetery.

“The next thing I knew I woke up four-and-a-half hours later in hospital,” he said.

He later learnt that the front wheel of his bike had dropped into the pothole, flipping him over face first and smashing him into the concrete. His nose was broken and split open, while he fractured an eye socket and needed stitches to his nose and eyebrows.

The force of the impact forced his teeth through his own lips, requiring further stitching, while the road surface shredded the skin from his arms and legs.

Tony Webber receiving treatment after the pothole incident

“I don’t remember anything after the first moment I hit the pothole,” he said. “I was just lying on the road in the night in a pool of blood. Luckily a GP happened to pass me and picked me up and had me taken to the hospital.

“I was on my hospital bed when I came to and everything was hurting. I couldn’t believe it, but in a way I suppose I was lucky that things weren’t worse.”

Mr Webber was not wearing a helmet when he crashed, but was told by doctors that it would not have protected his face, while the force of the impact would likely have caused his chin strap to break his jaw.

Compensation

“I have ridden that road hundred of times,” he said. “It has been bad for so long. There are holes and cracks all over it. I was always good at avoiding them, but this time I just went straight into it.”

Mr Webber, who works at the University of Surrey in a hospitality role, said he was shocked by the treatment he received from Surrey County Council (SCC) when he called to tell it about the accident and that he was considering claiming compensation.

“They just asked me where it happened and when and said that they would log things,” he said. “They didn’t sound bothered at all. I know it was just a council worker at the end of the phone, but I could’ve been killed. It’s dangerous out there for cyclists. A pothole has a very different impact on a bike and it completely took me out. It was pretty disgraceful.”

According to cycling charity CTC-run website fillthathole.org.uk, where cyclists raise concerns, which are then reported to the local council, the crash area was first reported in April 2010.

The description of the site states: “A groove running most of the width of the road, surrounded by potholes where the road surface has degenerated. This has started to cause quite a lot of noise as cars drive over it.”

Eight recorded incidents

A SCC spokesman said: “We are unable to comment on this accident as we have not yet had a report from Surrey Police.

"However, in the seven previous years there were eight recorded injury accidents on Stoughton Road, most of which occurred at the mini-roundabout and none of which were attributed to potholes.

“We regularly inspect roads and repair potholes as quickly as possible according to the risk they present, and encourage the public to report them via our website or contact centre.

"Anyone can submit a claim for compensation, and we assess each one on its merits. As claims are paid from council funds we have a duty to our taxpayers only to pay out when we are clearly in breach of our responsibilities or our duty of care to our residents.”